our building

1022 DAVIE STREET, VANCOUVER

Our Vancouver studio is located above Celebrities Nightclub. Our studio is also home to Luminesque Dance which has been performing at this venue for over 10 years.

The building is recognized by the Vancouver Heritage Foundation and has been a part of the entertainment scene in Vancouver for over a century.

Currently occupying the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

1908 - Opened up as one of the city’s first dancing halls – the Lester Dancing Academy.

1940s - It became the Embassy Ballroom – a “genteel dancing club.”

1960s - It became Dante’s Inferno - a rock club.

1970s - It became the Retinal Circus - a venue famous for its psychedelic concerts and groovy lightshows. In the club’s basement, Tommy Chong ran an after-hours club called the Elegant Parlour. During this decade, the club played host to music legends like Led Zepplin, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, the Velvet Underground and The Doors. In the late 1970’s the venue briefly turned into a strip club and then was sold to two Green brothers who turned into its current incarnation - Celebrities. This became the entertainment hub for the Davie Street Village’s burgeoning gay community.

Current Day - Celebrities Nightclub continues to be a venue for local and international DJ’s, artists and performers attracting a diverse crowd in Vancouver - specifically serving the gender and sexually diverse communities within + nearby the Davie Village.

Information sourced from Places That Matter.